D4: Player Made Traps
I am amazed that dungeon masters don’t encourage their players to use traps more regularly. The adventuring world IS out to kill them so it only makes sense that they take extra precautions when it’s available to them. Here are d4 traps that your players can set regularly.
- Ball Bearings, Caltrops, and Hunting Traps. These simple traps not only cause the creature that encounters them to make some kind of noise to alarm those nearby, but they’re inexpensive and in the player’s handbook ready to use. Just have the person setting up the trap make a Wisdom (stealth) check to hide the trap and done!
- Simple Crossbow Trap. This requires nothing but a piton or iron spike, a crossbow, and some kind of string or wire. Attach the wire to the door which pulls the wire activating the crossbow. This one may require a bit of finagling so proficiency in survival, tinker’s tools, or some other relevant skill may be required. The crossbow has a bonus to hit equal to the trapmaker’s proficiency bonus added to their intelligence modifier.
- Bucket on the Doorframe Trap. This trap is one of the most versatile with little set up. The trapmaker just has to succeed a DC 10 dexterity sleight of hand check to balance the bucket on the door. Anyone can see the bucket with a passive perception of 14 or higher, and even if someone does unknowingly open the door they can still catch the bucket with a successful DC 15 dexterity saving throw. If it’s just a bucket, it clatters alarming nearby creatures. If it’s a bucket of water or rocks, it alarms nearby creatures and causes 1d6 bludgeoning damage. If the bucket has a vial of alchemist fire or acid in it the creature that failed the save is hit by the alchemical material.
- Beware of Beastie. If the heroes defeat a beastie that the villain was using to guard something there is nothing stopping you from relocating that beastie elsewhere. Just relocate it somewhere more advantageous to you then bind it there with manacles, chains, and locks. You then may need to heal the creature in some way, but then you have a very angry monster wanting to tear someone apart in a location where it’ll be able to do so 🙂